DETROIT LIONS FOOTBALL

News, Blogs, Photos, Audio, Schedule & Stats

AP PhotoLions quarterback Dan Orlovsky, right, gets sacked by Minnesota's Kevin Williams in the third quarter. Detroit lost, 12-10.

MINNEAPOLIS -- And then there were two.

Sunday morning, there were four teams in the NFL that had yet to record a victory this season and, by late afternoon, that number had dwindled to two.

The Detroit Lions had several opportunities to leave the Cincinnati Bengals as the only winless team, but the Lions couldn't pull it off.

AP PhotoLions running back Kevin Smith tries to escape from Minnesota's Cedric Griffin. Smith finished with 62 yards rushing.

Grading the Detroit Lions on their 12-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at the Metrodome:

OFFENSE: D-minus
The one good thing in Dan Orlovsky's debut at quarterback was his ability to stay away from turnovers despite facing heavy pressure. Orlovsky, who was sacked six times, did show a strong arm, but his accuracy needs to improve.

The offensive line was better -- Detroit's 100 yards rushing was more than the Lions' previous four-game total combined against the Vikings (92 yards). Still, it wasn't enough. As good as the Vikings' defense is, the Lions are going to have to score more than 10 points to win a game.

AP File PhotoMinnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson (29) runs into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown as guard Anthony Herrera (64) signals the score during last year's game in Minneapolis.

MINNEAPOLIS -- One thing at a time.

The Detroit Lions are the worst defensive team in the NFL -- allowing an average of 429 yards per game -- but coach Rod Marinelli isn't trying to get everything fixed at once. His first order of business will be to improve the run defense.

The timing of his strategy is fairly sound because the Lions are facing one of the league's most explosive running backs today in Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings.

The 0-4 Lions are 13.5-point underdogs to the 2-3 Vikings, who have beaten Detroit 10 straight times at the Metrodome.

AP File PhotoMinnesota Vikings defensive back Darren Sharper intercepts a J.T. O'Sullivan pass intended for Calvin Johnson (81) in last year's game at Ford Field.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Darren Sharper's first NFL interception came against Detroit Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell in 1997 and was returned 50 yards for a touchdown. Sharper has been hounding Lions quarterbacks ever since.

Sharper, the Minnesota Vikings' strong safety, is the NFL leader in interception among active players with 53 and 11 of those have come against Lions quarterbacks.

"He's very smart, he knows where the football's going a lot of the time,'' said Lions backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky, one of the few Detroit quarterbacks who hasn't been picked off by Sharper. "When the ball's in the air, he's got great ball skills and you don't find that in a defensive back a lot.

Jared DeVries

ALLEN PARK -- A question and answer session with Detroit Lions defensive end Jared DeVries:

Q: You're one of four current NFL players from Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Iowa (enrollment: 200), along with Aaron Kampman of the Green Bay Packers, Brad Meester of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Casey Wiegmann of the Kansas City Chiefs. Is there something in the water back home?

A: The coach, Ed Thomas, has been there a long time. He's got some great assistants. They just teach the (fundamentals) of football, and guys have just taken it from there. We won one state title while I was there. They're always in the state playoffs.

AP File PhotoThere's been no sign of Calvin Johnson in the Detroit Lions' offense over the past two weeks.

OFFENSE
It has gotten so bad so fast, the Detroit offense is catching up with its defense. The Lions are 31st in the league in rushing (72.3), 30th in third-down percentage (12-for-48), 28th in total offense (263.0) and tied for third in both interceptions (7) and sacks allowed (16).

It's so bad wide receiver Calvin Johnson has all but disappeared, totaling six catches for 56 yards in the past two weeks. The Vikings, meanwhile, specialize in handing off to superstar Adrian Peterson, who's due for a breakout performance after being limited to 32 yards on the ground Monday night. He might make a run at 300 yards this week, while former Lions passer Gus Frerotte is doing a fine job since coming off the bench.

The Detroit Lions have downgraded quarterback Jon Kitna from doubtful to out. Kitna didn't practice all week because of back problems and it's not known if Kitna even made the trip to Minneapolis today.

Backups Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton split the practice reps all week and it would appear that Orlovsky will start against the Vikings, but that might not be set in stone.

Join MLive sports producer Philip Zaroo for a live game blog as the Detroit Lions travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings.

AP File PhotoCharles Rogers owes the Detroit Lions $8.5 million.

ALLEN PARK -- Now that former receiver Charles Rogers has lost an $8.5 million judgment to the Detroit Lions, what's the next step?

Other than confirming they won their grievance case against Rogers, the Lions refuse to comment further. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league is not involved and directed all questions to the Lions.

Rogers could not be reached for comment.

AP PhotoGus Frerotte, now the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, guided Detroit to the postseason in 1999.

ALLEN PARK -- The last time the Detroit Lions went to the playoffs, it was 1999 and their quarterback was Gus Frerotte.

Frerotte has returned to the playoffs twice since that time, and now that he's starting for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, he'll try to take another big step toward another playoff appearance. In doing so, Frerotte likely will continue Detroit's streak of misery.

"When I was a player there in '99, even though we were kind of on the tail-end of some things -- Barry Sanders had just retired -- nobody expected us to do well, and we still had crowds in there (at the Silverdome)," Frerotte said. "Detroit loves the Lions, and they still get people to come to the games. We were able to do some good things, despite not having Barry.

AP File PhotoCould Minnesota's Adrian Peterson rush for 300 yards against the Lions? Anything's possible.

Five players to watch when the Detroit Lions (0-4) meet the Minnesota Vikings (2-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Metrodome.

1. Adrian Peterson
No one will determine the fate of the Lions faster than Peterson. He's coming off a poor Monday night performance against the New Orleans Saints, so he'll be amped up for a breakout against the Lions at home -- and with a chance to lead his team back into contention in the NFC North standings.

The Lions rank 30th in the league in rushing defense and are allowing 250 yards per game on the road, so the threat of Peterson running for 200 yards is real.